Genesis of wollastonite- and grandite-rich skarns in a suite of marble-calc-silicate rocks from Sittampundi, Tamil Nadu: constraints on the P–T–fluid regime in parts of the Pan-African mobile belt of South India

The Pan-African tectonothermal activities in areas near Sittampundi, south India, are characterized by metamorphic changes in an interlayered sequence of migmatitic metapelites, marble and calc-silicate rocks. This rock sequence underwent multiple episodes of folding, and was intruded by granite batholiths during and subsequent to these folding events. The marble and the calc-silicate rocks develop a variety of skarns, which on the basis of mineralogy; can be divided into the following types: Type I: wollastonite?+?clinopyroxene (mg#?=?71–73)?+?grandite (16–21 mol% Adr)?+?quartz?±?calcite, Type II: grandite (25–29 mol% Adr )?+?clinopyroxene (mg#?=?70)?+?calcite?+?quartz, and Type III: grandite (36–38 mol% Adr)?+?clinopyroxene (mg#?=?55–65)?+?epidote?+?scapolite?+?calcite?+?quartz. Type I skarn is 2–10 cm thick, and is dominated by wollastonite (>70 vol%) and commonly occurs as boudinaged layers parallel to the regional foliation Sn₁ related to the Fn₁ folds. Locally, thin discontinuous lenses and stringers of this skarn develop along the axial planes of Fn₂ folds. The Type II skarn, on the other hand, is devoid of wollastonite, rich in grandite garnet (40–70 vol%) and developed preferentially at the interface of clinopyroxene-rich calc-silicates layers and host marble during the later folding event. Reaction textures and the phase compositional data suggest the following reactions in the skarns: 1. calcite?+?SiO₂?→?wollastonite?+?V, 2. calcite?+?clinopyroxene?+?O₂?→?grandite?+?SiO₂?+?V, 3. scapolite?+?calcite?+?quartz?+?clinopyroxene?+?O₂?→?grandite?+?V and 4. epidote?+?calcite?+?quartz?+?clinopyroxene?+?O₂?→?grandite?+?V Textural relations and composition of phases demonstrate that (a) silica metasomatism of the host marble by infiltration of aqueous fluids (X_CO2?<?0.15) led to production of large volumes of wollastonite in the wollastonite-rich skarn whereas mobility of FeO, SiO₂ and CaO across the interface of marble and calc-silicate and infiltration of aqueous fluids (X_CO2?<?0.35) were instrumental for the formation of grandite skarns. Composition of minerals in type II skarn indicates that Al₂O₃ was introduced in the host marble by the infiltrating fluid. Interpretation of mineral assemblages observed in the interlayered metapelites and the calcareous rocks in pseudosections, isothermal P-X_CO2 and isobaric T-X_CO2 diagrams tightly bracket the “peak” metamorphic conditions at c.9?±?1 kbar and 750°?±?30°C. Subsequent to ‘peak’ metamorphic conditions, the rocks were exhumed on a steeply decompressive P–T path. The estimated ‘peak’ P–T estimates are inconsistent with the “extreme” metamorphic conditions (>11 kbar and >950°C) inferred for the Pan-African tectonothermal events from the neighboring areas. Field and petrological attributes of these skarn rocks are consistent with the infiltration of aqueous fluid predominantly during the Fn₁ folding event at or close to the ‘peak’ metamorphic conditions. Petrological features indicate that the buffering capacity of the rocks was lost during the formation of type I and II skarns. However, the host rock could buffer the composition of the permeated fluids during the formation of type III skarn. Aqueous fluids derived from prograde metamorphism of the metapelites seem to be the likely source for the metasomatic fluids that led to the formation of the skarn rocks.     

Humite- and scapolite-bearing assemblages in marbles and calcsilicates of Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica: new data for Gondwana reconstructions

This study investigates marbles and calcsilicates in Central Dronning Maud Land (CDML), East Antarctica. The paleogeographic positioning of CDML as part of Gondwana is still unclear; however, rock types, mineral assemblages, textures and P–T conditions observed in this study are remarkably similar to the Kerala Khondalite Belt in India. The CDML marbles and calcsilicates experienced a Pan-African granulite facies metamorphism at c. 570 Ma and an amphibolite facies retrogression at c. 520 Ma. The highest grade assemblage in marbles is forsterite+spinel+calcite+dolomite, in calcsilicates the assemblages are diopside+spinel, diopside+garnet, scapolite+wollastonite+clinopyroxene±quartz, scapolite±anorthite±calcite+clinopyroxene+wollastonite. These assemblages constrain the peak metamorphic conditions to 830±20 °C, 6.8±0.5 kbar and X _CO2>0.46. During retrogression, highly fluoric humite-group minerals (humite, clinohumite, chondrodite) replaced forsterite, and garnet rims formed at the expense of scapolite during reactions with wollastonite, calcite or clinopyroxene but without involvement of anorthite. Metamorphic conditions were about 650 °C, 4.5±0.7 kbar, 0.2< X _CO2^fluid<0.36, and the co-existence of garnet, clinopyroxene, wollastonite and quartz constrains f_O2 to FMQ-1.5 log units. Mineral textures indicate a very limited influx of H₂O-rich fluid during amphibolite facies retrogression and point to significant variations of fluid composition in mm-sized areas of the rock. Gypsum was observed in two samples; it probably replaced metamorphic anhydrite which appears to have formed under amphibolite facies conditions. The observed extensive anorogenic magmatism (anorthosites, A-type granitoids) and the character of metamorphism between 610 and 510 Ma suggest that the crustal thermal structure was characterized by a long-lived (50–100 Ma) rise of the crustal geotherm probably caused by magmatic underplating.     

Wollastonite at Nuliyam,Kerala, southern India: a reassessment of CO2-infiltration and charnockite formation at a classic locality

The occurrence of a charnockitised felsic gneiss adjacent to a marble/calc-silicate horizon at Nuliyam, southern India, has been cited in recent literature as a classic example of the dehydration of crustal rocks resulting from the advective infiltration of CO₂-rich fluids generated from a local carbonate source. Petrographic study of the Nuliyam calc-silicate, however, reveals it to consist of abundant wollastonite and scapolite and contain locally discordant veins rich in wollastonite. At the pressure—temperature conditions proposed for charnockite formation in recent studies, 5 kbar and 725°C, this wollastonite-bearing mineral assemblage was stable in the presence of a fluid phase only if X _CO2 was near 0.25 and could not have coexisted with the fluid causing biotite breakdown and charnockite development in adjacent rocks (X _CO2>0.85). The stable coexistence of wollastonite and scapolite prohibits the calc-silicate from being a source for fluid driving charnockitisation at the required P-T conditions. Textural observations such as the limited replacement of wollastonite by calcite+quartz symplectites and mosaics, are consistent with late fluid infiltration into the calc-silicate. The extensive isotopic, chemical and mineral abundance data of Jackson and Santosh (1992) are re-interpreted and integrated with these observations to develop a model involving the infiltration of an externally derived CO₂-rich fluid during high-temperature decompression. Increased charnockite development next to the calc-silicate has arisen because the calc-silicate acted as a relatively unreactive and impermeable barrier to fluid transport and caused fluid ponding beneath antiformal closures. The Nuliyam charnockite/calc-silicate locality is an example of a structural trap in a metamorphic setting rather than a site where charnockite formation can be attributed to local fluid sources.     

Reaction textures and fluid behaviour in very high pressure calc-silicate rocks of the Münchberg gneiss complex, Bavaria, Germany

Calc-silicate rocks occur as elliptical bands and boudins intimately interlayered with eclogites and high-pressure gneisses in the Münchberg gneiss complex of NE Bavaria. Core assemblages of the boudins consist of grossular-rich garnet, diopside, quartz, zoisite, clinozoisite, calcite, rutile and titanite. The polygonal granoblastic texture commonly displays mineral relics and reaction textures such as post kinematic grossular-rich garnet coronas. Reactions between these mineral phases have been modelled in the CaO-Al₂O₃-SiO₂-CO₂-H₂O system with an internally consistent thermodynamic data base. High-pressure metamorphism in the calc-silicate rocks has been estimated at a minimum pressure of 31 kbar at a temperature of 630d? C with X_H2, O ≥ 0.03. Small volumes of a CO₂-N₂-rich fluid whose composition was buffered on a local scale were present at peak-metamorphic conditions. The P-T conditions for the onset of the amphibolite facies overprint are about 10 kbar at the same temperature. X_Co2 of the H₂O-rich fluid phase is regarded to have been <0.03 during amphibolite facies conditions. These P-T estimates are interpreted as representing different stages of recrystallization during isothermal decompression. The presence of multiple generations of mineral phases and the preservation of very high-pressure relics in single thin sections preclude pervasive post-peak metamorphic fluid flow as a cause of a re-equilibration within the calc-silicates. The preservation of eclogite facies, very high-pressure relics as well as amphibolite facies reactions textures in the presence of a fluid phase is in agreement with fast, tectonically driven unroofing of these rocks.     

Contrasting mineral parageneses in high-temperature calc-silicate granulites: examples from the Eastern Ghats, India

Abstract Three types of mineral associations are described from calc-silicate granulites from the Eastern Ghats, India, where geothermobarometry in associated rocks suggests extremely high P–T conditions of metamorphism ( c . 9 ± 1 kbar, 950° C). These mineral associations are: (i) calcite + quartz + scapolite + plagioclase, (ii) calcite + scapolite + wollastonite + porphyroblastic garnet + coronal garnet and (iii) calcite + quartz + wollastonite + scapolite + porphyroblastic garnet + coronal garnet, all coexisting with K-feldspar, titanite and clinopyroxene. The first two associations evolved through nearly isobaric cooling retrograde paths, whereas the third evolved through a nearly isothermal decompression path followed by an isobaric cooling retrograde path. Textural and compositional characteristics suggest the following mineral reactions in the calc-silicate granulites: calcite + quartz = wollastonite + CO₂, calcite + plagioclase = scapolite, calcite + scapolite + wollastonite = porphyroblastic garnet ± quartz + CO₂, CaTs + wollastonite = coronal garnet (association ii) and wollastonite + scapolite = coronal garnet (association iii) + quartz + CO₂. Andradite content in garnet was buffered by the redox equilibria wollastonite + hedenbergite + O₂= andradite + quartz (association iii) and wollastonite + andradite + CaTs + scapolite = hedenbergite + calcite + grossular + O₂ (association ii). The contrasting mineral parageneses have been ascribed to interplay of variables such as X _CO2, f _O2, f _HCl in the fluid, bulk Na content and the nature of the retrograde P–T–X _CO2 paths through which the rocks evolved.     

Petrology of calc-silicate rocks from Koduru,Andhra Pradesh,India

Mineral assemblages, rock and mineral chemistry, and mineral reactions, in calc-silicate rocks from Koduru area, Andhra Pradesh, India are discussed. Mineralogical and bulk chemical differences indicate 3 calc-silicate rock types — type I with K feldspar+calcite+wollastonite+quartz+scapolite+diopside_ss +andradite_ss+sphene, has relatively high rock oxidation ratios. Type II is a highly calcic variety with high rock MgFe ratios, and has K feldspar+calcite+wollastonite+quartz+scapolite + diopside_ss±grossularite_ss+sphene+zoisite. Type III has K feldspar +calcite+wollastonite+quartz+scapolite+diopside_ss +sphene+hornblende+magnetite, and has relatively low oxidation ratio and low MgFe ratio. The 3 calc-silicate rock types have originated as mixtures of limestone/dolomite/marl.Diopside was produced by a reaction involving Ca-amphibole +calcite+quartz, and reversed during retrogression. Andradite_ss in type I rocks was produced at the expense of hedenbergitic component of pyroxene in a continuous reaction as a consequence of increase in the oxygen content of the original sediment relative to type III. Calcite+quartz reacted to give wollastonite. During cooling an influx of water caused scapolite to alter to zoisite.     

Interaction of aqueous fluids with calcareous metasediments during high-T, low-P regional metamorphism in the Qadda area, southern Arabian Shield

The S.W. Nabitah Mobile Belt, Saudi Arabia, contains a Proterozoic island-arc complex. In the Qadda area, the metavolcanic-dominated supracrustal sequence records amphibolite facies regional metamorphism of high-T , low-P type. Calcsilicate rocks and aluminous dolomitic marbles within the supracrustal sequence have been studied in detail to refine estimates of peak metamorphic P–T conditions and assess the role of fluids during prograde and retrograde metamorphism. Fluid-independent thermobarometers (including the calcite–dolomite thermometer and P-sensitive equilibria involving grossular, wollastonite, anorthite, meionite, quartz and calcite) yield peak P–T conditions of c. 650–660 °C, 4 kbar, both higher than previous estimates, giving a revised average thermal gradient of c. 45 °C km^–1. The close match between the peak temperatures implied by calcite–dolomite thermometry and those recorded by univariant devolatilization equilibria suggests that the calcareous rocks were fluid-bearing during late-prograde and peak metamorphic stages. These fluids were essentially binary H₂O–CO₂ mixtures with low NaCl and HF concentrations. Most were H₂O-rich, with X_CO2 between 0.02 and 0.2, but values of c. 0.6 are recorded by two samples. High modal abundances of the solid products of decarbonation reactions (e.g. c. 10–50% wollastonite) in many of the rocks that record low-X_CO2 equilibrium fluids implies infiltration of significant quantities of externally derived aqueous fluid during late-prograde metamorphism, but not enough to exhaust the buffering capacity of the rocks. Calculated minimum time-integrated fluid-to-rock ratios of five wollastonite-bearing calcsilicate rocks range from 0.7±0.22 to 1.39±0.46 (1σ); those of six marbles range from c. 0 to 4±1.4. The latter variation occurs on a metre-scale, implying focusing of fluid flow. Diopside-rich rocks record fluid-to-rock ratios of up to 88±48. Penetrative wollastonite lineations indicate a temporal link between infiltration and distributed ductile deformation. Infiltrating fluids were probably derived both from the prograde dehydration of adjacent metabasalts and metatuffs and from crystallization of voluminous pretectonic granitoid intrusions. In general, fluid-to-rock ratios deduced for the metavolcanic-dominated Qadda area are similar to those recorded by rocks in the metasediment-dominated terrane of N. New England. The occurrence of post-tectonic retrograde hydration textures in both carbonate-bearing and carbonate-free rocks otherwise lacking hydrous minerals testifies to infiltration of aqueous fluids during retrograde metamorphism in the absence of penetrative deformation. Minimum fluid-to-rock ratios calculated for secondary grossular reaction rims in some calcsilicates are c. 0.04. Later patchy hydration of scapolite probably utilized static, pore-filling fluids remaining after the early retrograde infiltration.     

Fluid inclusion evidence for an anticlockwise metamorphic P-T path in central Massachusetts

Acadian (Late Silurian to Early Devonian) metamorphism in the Central Maine Terrane (CMT) in central Massachusetts is characterized by an early low-P, high-T (Buchan-type) metamorphism followed by thickening at high temperature (>650d? C) and then by cooling to 100-200d? C below peak recorded temperatures before eventual unroofing. Mineralogical and textural evidence for this path includes sillimanite pseudomorphs after early andalusite, abundant cordierite in pelitic lithologies, replacement of low-P cordierite-bearing assemblages by high-P garnet-bearing assemblages, and recrystallization of mylonites associated with late shear zones to form lower-T and higher-P assemblages. Peak conditions in the highest grade rocks were 685-780d? C and 5-6 kbar; the cooling path passed through 550d? C at about 6.5 kbar. The well-constrained P-T path documented from geological and mineralogical evidence for the CMT offers an unusual opportunity to examine characteristics of fluid inclusions that have experienced a long-lived metamorphic event spanning a broad range of P-T conditions. Fluid inclusion data from the CMT document a range of fluid compositions (CO₂-rich, mixed CO₂-N₂-rich, N₂-rich and H₂O-rich) and densities during metamorphism. Densities of CO₂ fluid inclusions range from 0.20 to 1.03 g cm^-3. Medium-density CO₂ fluid inclusions are contained in quartz inclusions within garnets in partial melt leucosomes, and in quartz grains within migmatites. Fluid inclusions within the quartz inclusions indicate trapping conditions of 650-700d? C at pressures below 5 kbar. Other CO₂ fluid inclusions from matrix quartz yield isochores which pass through 700d? C and 5.2 kbar. The highest density inclusions associated with rocks containing the late high-P assemblages have isochores which pass below the estimated P-T conditions for recrystallization of the mylonite. Fluid inclusion evidence suggests an early low-P heating event, followed by thickening at high temperature, and then by nearly isobaric cooling to about 500d? C with later decompression. This interpretation is also consistent with previously published petrological models and supports an anticlockwise P-T path for the CMT of south-central Massachusetts.     

Stability of fluorite and titanite in a calc-silicate rock from the Vizianagaram area, Eastern Ghats Belt, India

In the Vizianagaram area (E 83°29.442′; N 18°5.418′) of the Eastern Ghats Belt, India, a suite of graphite‐bearing calc‐silicate granulites, veined by syenitic rocks, developed wollastonite‐rich veins at 6–7 kbar and > 850 °C. During subsequent near‐isobaric cooling wollastonite was replaced by calcite + quartz and a graphic intergrowth of fluorite + quartz ± clinopyroxene. Titanite with variable Al and F contents is present throughout the rock. Combining the compositional variation of titanite and recent experimental data, it is demonstrated that the mineral assemblage, the composition of coexisting fluids and the mobility of Al exert a far greater control on the composition of titanite than pressure, temperature or the whole rock composition. Thermodynamically computed isothermal–isobaric logf_O2– logf_CO2 and logf_F2– logf_O2 grids in the systems Ca–Fe–Si–O–F (CISOF; calcite‐free) and Ca–Fe–Si–O–F–C–H (CISOFV; calcite‐present) demonstrate the influence of bulk rock and fluid compositions on the stability of the fluorite‐bearing assemblages in diverse geological environments and resolve the problem of the stability of titanite in fayalite + fluorite‐bearing rocks in the Adirondacks. The mineralogy of the studied rocks and the topological constraints tightly fix the logf_O2, logf_F2 and logf_CO2 at ?15.8, ?30.6 and 4.1, respectively, at 6.5 kbar and c. 730 °C. Because of the similarity in the P–T conditions, the compositions of pore fluids in the fluorite‐bearing assemblages of the Adirondacks and the Eastern Ghats Belt have been compared.     

Metamorphic evolution of exhumed middle to lower crustal rocks in the Mojave Extensional Belt, southern California, USA

The Waterman Metamorphic Complex of the central Mojave Desert was exposed as a consequence of early Miocene detachment-dominated extension. However, it has evidence consistent with a more extensive geological history that involves collision of a crustal fragment(s), tectonic thickening by overthrusting and two periods of extension. The metamorphic complex contains granitoid intrusives and felsic mylonitic gneisses as well as polymetamorphic rocks that include marble, calc-silicate, quartzite. mafic granulite, pyribolite, amphibolite, migmatite and biotite schist. The latter group of rocks was affected by an initial series of high-grade metamorphic events (M1 and M2) and a localized lower grade overprint (M3). The initial metamorphism (M1) can be separated into two stages along its high-grade P–T path: M1a, a granulite facies metamorphism at 800–850° C and 7.5–9 kbar and Mlb, an upper amphibolite facies overprint at 750–800° C and 10–12 kbar. M1a developed mineral assemblages and textures consistent with granulite facies conditions at a reduced activity of H₂O and is associated with intense ductile deformation (D1) and minor local partial melting. M1b overprinted the granulite assemblages with a series of hydrous phases under conditions of increasing pressure and H₂O activity and is accompanied by little or no deformation. M2 developed at lower pressures and temperatures (650–750° C, 4.5–5.5 kbar) and is distinguished by a second local overprint of hydrous phases that reflects an input of aqueous fluids probably associated with the intrusion of a series of granitic dykes and veins. Effects of M3 are confined to the Mitchel detachment zone, an anastomosing early Miocene detachment fault, and are characterized by local ductile/brittle deformation (D2) of the pre-existing high-grade rocks and granitoid intrusives and by the production of mylonites and mylonitic gneisses under greenschist facies conditions (300–350° C, 3–5 kbar). The initial overprint (M1a) represents metamorphism, devolatilization and minor partial melting of supracrustal rocks under granulite facies conditions as a consequence of tectonic and, possibly, magmatic thickening. The increasing pressure transition of M1a to M1b reflects a period of continued compressional tectonism, thrusting and influx of H₂O, in part, locally related to crystallization of partial melts. The near isothermal decompression between M1b and M2 probably represents a pre-112-Ma extensional episode that may have been the result of a decompressional readjustment of a thickened crust. Following the initial extensional event, the metamorphic complex remained at depths of 10–17 km for at least 90 Ma until it was uplifted following Miocene extension. M3 develops locally in response to this second extensional period resulting from the early Miocene detachment faulting.     

Vesuvianite-wollastonite-grossular-bearing calc-silicate rock near Tatapani,Surguja district,Chhattisgarh

This paper reports the occurrence of vesvianite + wollastonite + grossular + diopside + microcline + quartz assemblage in an enclave of calc-silicate rocks occurring within quartzofeldspathic gneiss near Tatapani in the western part of Chhotanagpur Gneissic Complex. The enclave contains phlogopite-absent and phlogopite-bearing calc-silicate rocks, the latter being much more abundant than the former. The above assemblage occurs in the phlogopite-absent rock. Phlogopite-bearing rock contains the assemblage phlogopite + salite + microcline + plagioclase + quartz. A strong schistosity is developed in both the calc-silicate rocks and the minerals are syntectonic with the major foliation-forming event in the area. The vesuvianite-bearing assemblage is formed by amphibolite facies regional metamorphism of a calcareous protolith at pressure < 4 kbar and X_{CO 2} (fluid) < 0.15.     

Reaction textures in calc-silicate granulites from the Bolingen Islands, Prydz Bay, East Antarctica: implications for the retrograde P–T path

Calc-silicate granulites from the Bolingen Islands, Prydz Bay, East Antarctica, exhibit a sequence of reaction textures that have been used to elucidate their retrograde P–T path. The highest temperature recorded in the calc-silicates is represented by the wollastonite- and scapolite-bearing assemblages which yield at least 760°C at 6 kbar based on experimental results. The calc-silicates have partially re-equilibrated at lower temperatures (down to 450°C) as evidenced by the successive reactions: (1) wollastonite + scapolite + calcite = garnet + CO₂, (2) wollastonite + CO₂= calcite + quartz, (3) wollastonite + plagioclase = garnet + quartz, (4) scapolite = plagioclase + calcite + quartz, (5) garnet + CO₂+ H₂O = epidote + calcite + quartz, and (6) clinopyroxene + CO₂+ H₂O = tremolite + calcite + quartz.
The reaction sequence observed indicates that a CO₂ was relatively low in the wollastonite-bearing rocks during peak metamorphic conditions, and may have been further lowered by local infiltration of H₂O from the surrounding migmatitic gneisses on cooling. Fluid activities in the Bolingen calc-silicates were probably locally variable during the granulite facies metamorphism, and large-scale CO₂ advection did not occur.
A retrograde P–T path, from the sillimanite stability field ( c. 760°C at 6 kbar) into the andalusite stability field ( c. 450°C at <3 kbar), is suggested by the occurrence of secondary andalusite in an adjacent cordierite–sillimanite gneiss in which sillimanite occurs as inclusions in cordierite.     

Pressure-temperature Evolution of the Metapelites in the Motuo Area,the Eastern Himalayan Syntaxis

The Motuo area is located in the east of the Eastern Himalayan Syntaxis. There outcrops a sequence of high-grade metamorphic rocks, such as metapelites. Petrology and mineralogy data suggest that these rocks have experienced three stages of metamorphism. The prograde metamorphic mineral assemblages(M1) are mineral inclusions(biotite + plagioclase + quartz ± sillimanite ± Fe-Ti oxides) preserved in garnet porphyroblasts, and the peak metamorphic assemblages(M2) are represented by garnet with the lowest XSps values and the lowest XFe# ratios and the matrix minerals(plagioclase + quartz ± Kfeldspar + biotite + muscovite + kyanite ± sillimanite), whereas the retrograde assemblages(M3) are composed of biotite + plagioclase + quartz symplectites rimming the garnet porphyroblasts. Thermobarometric computation shows that the metamorphic conditions are 562–714°C at 7.3–7.4 kbar for the M1 stage, 661–800°C at 9.4–11.6 kbar for the M2 stage, and 579–713°C at 5.5–6.6 kbar for the M3 stage. These rocks are deciphered to have undergone metamorphism characterized by clockwise P-T paths involving nearly isothermal decompression(ITD) segments, which is inferred to be related to the collision of the India and Eurasia plates.     

Fluid-rock history of granulite facies humite-marbles from Ambasamudram, southern India.

An extensive humite‐bearing marble horizon within a supracrustal sequence at Ambasamudram, southern India, was studied using petrological and stable isotopic techniques to define its metamorphic history and fluid characteristics. At peak metamorphic temperatures of 775±73°C, based on calcite‐graphite carbon isotope thermometry, the mineral assemblages suggest layer‐by‐layer control of fluid compositions. Clinohumite + calcite‐bearing assemblages suggest X_CO2 < 0.4 (at 700°C and 5 kbar), calcite + forsterite + K‐feldspar‐bearing assemblages suggest X_CO2>0.9 (at 790°C); and local wollastonite + scapolite + grossular‐bearing zones formed at X_CO2 of c. 0.3. Retrograde reaction textures such as scapolite + quartz symplectites after feldspar and calcite and replacement of dolomite + diopside or tremolite+dolomite after calcite+forsterite or calcite+clinohumite are indicative of retrogression under high X_CO2 conditions. Calcite preserves late Proterozoic carbon and oxygen isotopic signatures and the marble lacks evidence for extensive retrograde fluid infiltration, while during prograde metamorphism the possible infiltration of aqueous fluids did not produce significant isotopic resetting. Isotopic zonation of calcite and graphite grains was likely produced by localized CO₂ fluid infiltration during retrogression. Contrary to the widespread occurrence of humite‐marbles related to retrograde aqueous fluid infiltration, the Ambasamudram humite‐marbles record a prograde‐to‐peak metamorphic humite formation and retrogression under conditions of low X_H2O.     

Fluid infiltration effects on stable isotope systematics of the Susurluk skarn deposit,NW Turkey

A calcic skarn deposit occurs along the contact zone between Oligo-Miocene Çatalda? Granitoid and Mesozoic limestones in Susurluk, northwestern Turkey. The skarn zone with little or no retrograde stage is represented by fluid inclusions with high homogenization temperatures (up to >600 °C) and a wide range of salinity (12 to >70 wt.% NaCl). Pluton-derived fluids facilitated occurrence of continuous prograde reactions in the country rocks (particularly in the proximal zone) and oxygen isotopic depletion in calc-silicate and calcite minerals. δ¹⁸O of anhydrous minerals within proximal and distal zones indicate that skarn-forming fluids had a magmatic origin. The δ¹⁸O values are 5.93–9.08‰ (mean 6.8‰) for garnet, 4.08–9.94‰ (mean 6.4‰) for pyroxene, 4.89–7.92‰ (mean 6.4‰) for wollastonite and 6.65–8.28‰ (mean 7.5‰) for vesuvianite. Temperatures estimated by isotopic compositions of mineral pairs are significantly lower than those measured from the fluid inclusions, indicating that isotopic equilibrium is not preserved between the skarn minerals. δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C values are systematically depleted from marbles to skarn carbonates. Calc-silicate forming reactions and permeability increase triggered by volatilization and consequent strong infiltration of H₂O-rich siliceous fluids into the system promoted fluid–rock interaction causing isotopic resetting and isotopic depletion of silicates (e.g. pyroxene and wollastonite) and skarn calcites.     

Contact metamorphism of pelitic,psammitic and calcareous sediments in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales

Contact metamorphism has been recognized along a 4 km wide belt adjacent to the shallow‐dipping eastern margin of the Arthursleigh Tonalite, an Early Devonian pluton of the Marulan Batholith, eastern New South Wales. In Ordovician psammitic and pelitic rocks three zones of progressive contact metamorphism range from muscovite + biotite + chlorite assemblages in the outer zone to K‐feldspar + cordierite assemblages adjacent to the pluton and in metasedimentary xenoliths. Retrograde phenomena include extensive replacement of metamorphic minerals by ‘sericite’ and chlorite. Calcareous metasediments adjacent to the tonalite typically contain assemblages of quartz + calcic plagioclase + ferrosalite + sphene, or wollastonite + calcite + diopside with minor grossularite and vesuvianite. Thermal effects in volcanic rocks along the western margin of the pluton are confined to recrystallization of the groundmass.

The regional geology indicates confining pressures of approximately 1 kbar at the time of emplacement of the tonalite. Contact metamorphic temperatures were estimated from two‐feldspar geothermometry to attain a maximum of approximately 590°C for rocks in the innermost zone of the aureole and 700°C for the xenoliths. Fluid compositions attending progressive contact metamorphism were water‐rich (Xco₂<0.2) and, during cooling, these fluids probably account for the extensive retrograde hydration observed in the aureole.     

Fluid flow and alkali transport within a metamorphic terrane, western North Carolina

This paper presents preliminary results from study of a metasedimentary terrane near the Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina. Grade of metamorphism ranges from garnet to staurolite-kyanite zone. The stratigraphic section is dominated by metasandstone but contains thick pelitic horizons over the central portion (Anakeesta Formation) of the studied interval. Metasandstone beds contain numerous isolated calcite concretions; these react to form leucocratic calc-silicate rock at variable grade of metamorphism. Metasandstones themselves are unreactive. Study of calc-silicate reaction permits the following statements regarding fluid flow and alkali transport within the studied terrane.Within unreacted concretions, the typical mineral assemblage is quartz-oligoclase-muscovite-biotite-calcite. Reaction between micas and calcite proceeded through several stages, forming as prograde minerals andesine/bytownite, clinozoisite, zoisite, garnet, hornblende, and chlorite. Reaction occurred in the presence of a fluid phase containing a H₂O/CO₂ ratio of 9 and resulted in massive expulsion of Na₂O, K₂O and CO₂. Since postulated reactions would have produced, on average, a fluid phase whose H₂O/CO₂ ratio is only one, flow of water-rich fluid through the concretions accompanied reaction. Rough estimate suggests a volumetric ratio of external fluid to rock of at least 1.1.The metamorphic grade at which concretions undergo reaction is controlled by stratigraphic position of the host metasandstone relative to metashale. Within the Anakeesta Formation and overlying strata, extensive reaction occurs near the pelitic staurolite and kyanite isograds. Within massive metasandstones of the underlying strata, reaction is delayed to the middle staurolite-kyanite zone, 5 km upgrade. Some reaction occurs within the upper garnet zone, but this is restricted to certain thin metasandstone beds interlayered with metashale. Study of dehydration reactions within metashale demonstrates that calc-silicate reaction was coupled to production of H₂O-rich fluids within pelitic strata.Transport of H₂O-rich fluids beyond outcrop scale was by advection. Diffusion was limited to outcrop distance. On most outcrops, all isolated concretions show the same degree of reaction. But at larger scale separate metasandstone packets bounded by metashale show differing degrees of reaction. Also, all rocks underwent some degree of penetrative deformation during time of reaction. The suggestion is made that advective flow was in fact channelized into fractures within metasandstone, and that diffusion between fractures promoted reaction within outcrop-size volumes of rock. Overall direction of fluid transport was in part upsection and in part channelized within metasandstone strata. Downsection flow was limited.For the most part alkalis liberated by calc-silicate reaction appear to have left the terrane. Metasandstones do not appear to constitute a sink for alkalis, and no sink of any sort was found for sodium. Potassium metasomatism of pelitic rock did occur and is marked by conversion of chlorite to biotite. But such K deposition is limited to sections within which metashale and calc-silicate rock are within outcrop distance. No sink is evident for most liberated potassium. It is within conjecture that the liberated elements caused alkali metasomatism elsewhere within the metamorphic belt, but such an event has yet to be demonstrated.     

Contrasting Carbon and Oxygen Isotopic Evolution in Metacarbonates from the Kerala Khondalite Belt,Southern India

The Kerala Khondalite belt is a Proterozoic metasupracrustal granulite facies terrain in southern India comprising garnet-biotite gneiss, garnet-sillimanite gneiss and orthopyroxene granulites as major rock types. Calc-silicate rocks and marbles, occurring as minor lithologies in the Kerala Khondalite Belt, show different mineral assemblages and reaction histories of which indicate a metamorphic P-T-fluid history dominated by internal fluid buffering during the peak metamorphism, followed by external fluid influx during decompression. The carbon and oxygen isotopic compositions of calcite from three representative metacarbonate localities show contrasting evolutionary trends. The Ambasamudram marbles exhibit carbon and oxygen isotope ratios (δ¹³C ∼ 0‰ and δ¹⁸O ∼ 20‰) typical of middle to late Proterozoic marine carbonate sediments with minor variation ascribed to the isotopic exchange due to the devolatilization reactions. The δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O values of ∼ −9‰ and 11‰, respectively, for calcite from calc-silicate rocks at Nuliyam are considerably low and heterogeneous. The wollastonite formation here, possibly corresponds to an earlier event of fluid infiltration during prograde to peak metamorphism, which resulted in decarbonation and isotope resetting. Further, petrologic evidence supports a model of late carbonic fluid infiltration that has partially affected the calc-silicate rocks, with subsequent isotope resetting, more towards the contact between calc-silicate rock and charnockite. At Korani, only oxygen isotopes have been significantly lowered (δ¹⁸O ∼ 13‰) and the process involved might be a combination of metamorphic devolatilization accompanied by an aqueous fluid influx, supported by petrologic evidence. The stable isotope signatures obtained from the individual localities, thus indicate heterogeneous patterns of fluid evolution history within the same crustal segment.     

Wollastonite at the Sterling Hill Fe–Zn–Mn ore body, Ogdensburg, New Jersey

Summary Wollastonite occurs abundantly at the Sterling Hill Fe–Zn–Mn ore deposit, Ogdensburg, New Jersey, one of the few occurrences of wollastonite in regionally metamorphosed rocks; it is absent from the surrounding Franklin marble. Wollastonite occurs in two distinct bands along the inner margins of the synclinal ore deposit. Minerals associated with wollastonite include calcite, grossular-andradite, diopsidic pyroxene, alkali feldspar, and rarely vesuvianite, quartz or bustamite. Assuming the generally accepted values of 750°C at 5kbar at Sterling Hill during metamorphism in the Grenville Orogeny, thermodynamic modeling of reactions involving garnet and wollastonite suggest XCO₂ 0.35 in the wollastonite-bearing rocks. Infiltrating metamorphic fluid rich in H₂O was necessary for the formation of wollastonite; at XCO₂ of 0.35, the calculated minimum volumetric water:rock ratio is 0.51. The source of the water is believed to be the dehydration of water-rich phases in adjacent ores or mafic rocks. The chemical compositions, textures, stratigraphy, and calculated metamorphic conditions show that wollastonite formed from calcite and quartz at the peak of the Grenville Orogeny.Present address: Maryland State Highway AdministrationReceived August 18, 2002; revised version accepted February 5, 2003     

Phase equilibria in fluid inclusions from the Khtada Lake metamorphic complex

The Khtada Lake. British Columbia, metamorphic complex consists of high grade amphibolite and metasedimentary units with development of gneiss, migmatite and homogeneous autochthonous plutons. Maximum metamorphic conditions are estimated to have exceeded 5 kbar and 700°C.Fluid inclusions in matrix quartz are highly variable in density and composition, ranging from apparently pure CO₂ (gas or liquid or both at room temperature) through CO₂ + H₂O ± CH₄ mixtures to inclusions which are entirely aqueous. They occur along cracks, in groups without planar features and as isolated inclusions. The latter and some which occur in groups, are interpreted to most nearly approximate, in density and composition, the fluids present during the peak of metamorphism.The density and fluid composition data are derived from direct observations of phase changes between ? 180 and + 380°C and from the application of published experimental data in the system CH₄-CO₂-H₂O-NaCl. The most dense, pure CO₂ inclusions indicate a pressure of entrapment at 5 kbar, if a temperature of 700°C is assumed. This is in close agreement with the minimum P-T estimates from the mineral assemblages. Methane was positively identified in inclusions in graphite-bearing specimens. Salt content is concluded to be about 5–6 wt% NaCl equivalent in the aqueous phase in both aqueous and CO₂ + H₂O inclusions. There is evidence of immiscible separation of CO₂-rich and H₂O-rich fluids at temperatures at least as high as 375°C.